sick

hey.

I am not proud of it.

I am sick.

Addicted, even.

There is no excuse.

There are parts of me that are sick. My computer was a little bit ill. There are posts that await, and I was without my electronic diary. The conclusion of my culinary pilgrimage awaits, and my computer was having an affair with the geek squad at my favorite blue and yellow electronics store. A word to the wise, smit fraud is a nasty virus that you don't want to catch.

There is no answer, only reformatting. There is no escape, only the clean slate.

There is only the erased data and the empty landscape of my desktop. I love and hate clean slates. Who doesn't?

I am not proud of what I turn to. There is no excuse. At least I plated some of it. There are times when all of us need to hike down the avenue of our favorite meal for comfort... but here I am. It's okay - you have to see this side of me.

Here I am.

It's not hard. Tonight I stayed at the office until the sun went down, so that just opens the door. I really jump at the chance for an excuse. The drive home lead to the same familiar thoughts about the refrigerator. What was in it? Would any of it make a meal? Would any of it require effort to prepare? I just couldn't leave that excel spreadsheet until it was done. I just love and loathe the data all at the same time. I didn't mean for it to end up this way, but I didn't fight it either.

I told you I was sick. Then came the movie. Oh, this next part is not for the faint of heart. It was a romantic comedy. Halfway through the manchego you realize that he really loves his friend all along. There is an uncomfortable fifteen minutes where they may not end up together. Oh, dear.

But, there is some truth here, just like the movie.

The meal I ate tonight consisted of cheese, crackers, raspberries, grapes, dried apricots, cornichons, and prosciutto. A little old and cured and a little fresh and new. A little sweet and a little sour. Oh, and the half bottle of red wine. You have to have something to wash it all away.

I told you I was sick. It is not all pretty. Some days are gourmet and some days are not.

travelogue part 2

The roots...

Who was it, do you think, that first pulled a root out of the ground and said "I bet I could eat that"? They must have been ravenous.

There are some fruits and vegetables that are naturally appealing. Imagine the symmetrical pleasing shape and smooth texture of soybeans, for example. If you can't eat them, then I just might wear them for earrings. Berries, freshly picked, or even a tomato, bursting at the seams with summery moisture and acidic flavor - these seem to be natural sources of food. However, when you take something ugly and alien, and make it delicious, you have gone in another direction entirely.

There are plenty of seemingly odd foods in the grocery store now. But the practice of boiling, baking, or frying a potato is no longer pushing the envelope. Besides a double-dog dare, I don't know if there are many times where I have eaten something I wasn't quite sure about, before my trip. Before the pilgrimage, everything I have eaten resembled food. (Let's not talk about those chicken nuggets.)

As we all know, the first part of food that you experience is how it looks on the plate. That is why I prefaced my next anecdote with this nod to good looks. All the plates at Ubuntu were more than pleasing to the eye. They were artfully presented. They were also thoughtfully planned and masterfully executed. What may have looked like unfamiliar territory quickly flowed into a naturally progressing and complete meal.

The menu (with wines in italics)

amuse bouche
SHISO ice, regina olive oil, maldon salt
carta da musica, ROOTS, burrata

blackened MELON with BASIL & avocado
HOT PEPPER vinegar, sinskey’s kieffer lime, agua fresca
chateau lascaux rose, languedoc ,france, 2007

chickpeas a la catalan
red pepper tears, MINT, romesco, TOMATO toast
zaca mesa viognier, santa ynez valley, 2006

potato gnocchi with CIPPOLINI crème fraiche
GREY SHALLOTS roasted in their skin, LADY APPLE
havens albarino, carneros, 2007

SUMMER SQUASH scented with our vadouvan spice
FICOIDE GLACIALE, beer-battered BLOSSOMS
robert stemmler pinot noir, carneros, 2005

poached domaine de la chance egg with morels
porcini financier, NEW ZEALAND SPINACH, smoked corn
long meadow ranch cabernet sauvignon, napa, 2003

“o’ henry” peach poached with LEMON VERBENA
champagne sabayon, nectarine, wild fennel almonds
pope valley , late harvest chenin blanc, napa,2006

vegan carrot cupcakes with tiny candied CARROTS

baby lady apples with BAY LEAF caramel and our granola

I have never tasted shiso before, or baby lady apples. I have never thought to sample a leaf from the focoide glaciale plant, although that one I hadn't seen before. But it is really not about about what I didn't have before I got there, it is about what I carried away when I left. I tasted the hillsides in Napa through the innovative chefs at Ubuntu. The local farms that provide the ingredients also provided me with an unforgettable experience. I don't want to be shocked by my food, but I relish the rare experience of the new and different in an unforced environment. Naturally.

More dirt: Honorable mentions from the plant kingdom

1. The truly sumptuous truffle oil fries at Fog City Diner

2. The meatiness of the squash blossoms on the flatbread and balanced and crispy fried green beans at Coco 500 pleasantly surprised me

3. "I'm sorry this took so long, we had to pick some more mint from the garden" Southern Belle at Julia's Kitchen (vodka, lemonade, cucumber and MINT).

4. The briny and delicious olives from Oakville Grocery

5. The cucumber gimlet at Cortez

oh, travelogue - my culinary pilgrimage

Where do I even begin?

What was my latest journey, you ask?

Well, perhaps I have been distracted by the journey through the move. The journey into the boxes, and into the new house. The journey into fresh paint and sticky packing tape. The journey into a new kitchen... but that is another story. I am afraid to tell you... there has been little cooking in the new house. Just cooking up ideas and reading up on another journey.

San Fran. Frisco. What better place to begin a new chapter of the ravenous Texan? Arguably the culinary capital of the United States, San Fran is home to some of the best meals I have had all week (and all year!), so this is where I will begin this new portion of the blog. The part where I will tell you what I think of food that I did not cook.

Highlights from a culinary pilgrimage in descending order:

Hog Island Oyster Bar

Bouchon in Yountville

Ubuntu in Napa

Coco 500 in Soma

Delica in the Ferry Building

Fog City Diner

Rye

Julia's Kitchen at COPIA

The Ambassador

The Cortez Bar at the Adagio Hotel

Market Bar

The Clift Hotel (if I am cool enough)

the Sangria at Cha Cha Cha (skip the food)

How should I dissect this list? Shall I separate it into drink and food? They are both culinary journeys of course. Should I go through each meal in detail, recounting every taste and smell? Nah. I will tell you the parts that I savored.

The parts that made me close my eyes and say "remember this."

Those parts are here, and if you want more of them, you can look at them on this page where I have begun posting pictures.

Part 1

The icy cold and slippery saltiness of the oysters consumed on my trip may cause me to start looking for more coastal employment. What is brine anyway? Did you know that most oysters actually call more brackish water their home? Why do some grow to be so large and fatty, and some stay so neat and tidy in their shell? These are not the things I think about when I think about an oyster. I think about being a mermaid.

In another lifetime, if you believe in all that, I was a mermaid. I was not one of those animated mermaids that made friends with all the fish. I was a mermaid who went looking through all the oyster beds for every last one. No pearls, tabasco, cocktail sauce, or crackers, thanks. Just Kumamotos, Sweetwaters, maybe some Malpeques. Just make sure its cold and that there is a slice of lemon lying around somewhere. I have not always been a purist. I have also not always written about the food I eat. You learn when you dissect.

Plenty of peeps that came before me have given their shout out to the oyster:

I don't know if he was an aficionado, but Lewis Carroll made an impression on me as a young oyster pursuer. Perhaps it was the anthropomorphic oysters that pleaded for their life with no success against such foes as the walrus and the carpenter. What a sad and happy tale all at the same time.

"An oyster leads a dreadful but exciting life..." - MFK Fisher

"Secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." - Charles Dickens (from A Christmas Carol)

"He was a bold man that first eat an oyster." - Johnathan Swift (coming from him!)

So, I will not be so bold as to say that I am one of the founders of the Oyster Fan Club. I know there are many who have come before. I am just standing in line, waiting for my membership card.

Perhaps it is all the sea that we cannot drink that is filtered through this perfect specimen of

muscle. Perhaps it is the noble life it leads to get us there, pumping and pumping...filtering and syphoning to get us to that sweet and salty kiss, so creamy and crisp all at the same time. Maybe that is why I adore them so.

The perfect marriage

Souffles are a lot like marriage... They are difficult at times. They require patience and preparation. They are very rewarding. They can be sweet or savory. They can be dramatic and exciting. They can be light and fluffy. They can be crusty around the edges. They are fragile and should be treated delicately at times. They can even fail or fall.

But a good souffle is the perfect marriage between two lucky ingredients: (1) Eggs, beaten like the dickens, and (2) A thick, well-seasoned base. The perfect marriage can be achieved, and especially when your inspiration is cheese, oh, is it lovely...


The Perfect Marriage of Eggs and Cheese
(Otherwise known as a Gruyere cheese souffle)

- butter, room temperature for greasing container
- grated Parmesan, about 1/4 cup or less
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/3 cup of milk
(Alton Brown says the milk should be hot, and I suppose it helps).
- 4 large egg yolks
- LOTS of shredded Gruyere cheese (about 6-8 ounces)
- 5 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (if you are using a copper bowl to beat your eggs, you do not need this.)

First, most chefs recommend that with a cheese souffle, you generously butter the inside of your chosen souffle dish and coat it with dry breadcrumbs or grated Parmesan cheese. Uh... I chose cheese.

Cover this souffle dish with plastic wrap, or my favorite, press and seal, and stick it in the refrigerator or freezer for about 5 minutes (to help set the cheese and butter in place).

Turn your oven on to preheat to 375 degrees. (350 if you are making individual ones).

Okay, so some would say that your flavorful base is a bechamel sauce. I don't know if it always qualifies for other souffles, especially dessert souffles, but it seems to fit the bill here. It also makes me feel oh so Frenchy to make a bechamel and souffle at the same time. Thank you very much.

So, the bechamel... it starts by heating the butter in a saucepan whisking constantly so it does not start to brown or burn. Add the flour, dry mustard, and salt and whisk well. Turn the heat up and let this cook for about 2 minutes. Continue to whisk while the mixture simmers, and until it is thick and smooth. These seem like vague terms, but you can tell when you bechamel takes on a new identity. It is subtle, but it is there...

Take this off the heat and add in Gruyere. The mixture will become very stiff. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Set this aside.

Using a handy hand-mixer (to allow for maximum froth and flexibility) whip the egg whites and cream of tarter. Beat, whisk, and generally whip the eggs until they no longer resemble eggs. They will become frothy and form peaks when you pull out the whisk. See left.

Now, move quickly here, but do not get too crazy with your eggs. Treat them delicately (see marriage comparison above) as they are infused with air, and you do not want to burst their bubble.

Slowly combine the cheesey base to the egg mixture. Gently fold the mixture together in a bowl and then pour the mixture into the souffle pan. For drama, fill it closer the top. I left about a 1/2 inch. Place the souffle pan on a baking sheet and cross your fingers for about 35 minutes.

For the life cycle of a souffle, see below.

For the life cycle of a marriage, well, that one is another story...

It all started with onions.

It was an innocent beginning. A sweet Texas onion... we Texas ladies know what that means. A Vidalia onion is not a mean onion. If you invited a Vidalia onion to tea it would behave. I mean, really.

If I were a Vidalia onion, I would talk like Juuuulia Roberts in Steel Magnolias. If I were a Vidalia onion, I would be gentile. But somehow I got a wild one.

But, really, let's be serious. I can't chop a shallot or a chive without this kind of reaction. My eyes are tearing up as I type this. It's the sulfur. That is what they tell me anyway.

That's why I am not sure I am cut out for this recipe. I am not cut out for the pain. I really can't take it. I frequently have to leave the kitchen. I do this great maneuver where I press the backs of my hands against my closed eyelids in search of relief and let out a little gasp... Is it worth it? Really? Yes, if you are making the all-time tastiest turkey meatloaf, it is worth it.

My favorite meatloaf

- Olive oil (let's eyeball it, but about a tablespoon)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups minced onions (oh, the pain!)
- minced garlic (a tablespoon? eh, try two)
- 1 tspn dried oregano
- 1 tspn dried thyme
- 1/2 tspn ground allspice
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds of ground turkey
- 1 cup fine bread crumbs
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup minced fresh italian parsley (this means the flat-leaf kind)
- 3 tbspn ketchup
- 1-2 tbspn salt
- 1-2 tbspn pepper


Put the olive oil and butter in a skillet and let butter melt on medium to low heat. When it is all melty and yummy, add the onions and garlic and stir... when the onions look clear or translucent, you are ready for the next step. Add the dried herbs and the allspice, plus the heavy cream. Let this simmer a little, but keep stirring. This picture to the left is where we started...


Step 1 in the picture right below here is where we go next... Let it simmer until it looks like oatmeal and most of the liquid has been reduced out. When the consistency is right, set it aside and let it cool. When it is cool, add the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, ketchup, salt and pepper. Mix well. Go ahead, get your hands dirty.

Preheat the oven to the old faithful 350 degrees.

Bake this in a loaf pan until an hour has passed. I was able to make it stretch to two pans...
It doesn't sound or look that exciting. But this, my friend, is the holy grail of meatloaf. You try it, and let me know.
















Why or why would you serve meatloaf without mashed potatoes as a side? While you are at it, what about a shitake mushroom gravy? It's easy. Combine 1/2 cup stemmed and thinly sliced shitake mushrooms, 2 cups of chicken stock and 2 beef bouillon cubes crumbled in hot water. Let this simmer for a long while until it resembles au jus or gravy. mmmmmmm.

Keep it simple, stupid.

I love to cook. I love to add a dash of this, and a little of that. I like to be spontaneous. I like to "eyeball it" as my mother says. Who doesn't? What is fun about being a slave to other people's recipes? Nothing.

But you know what is nice sometimes? Simple and sweet. There is nothing as splendid as a simple vanilla, vanilla cupcake.

There are many cupcake recipes out there. There are uber chic new cupcake bakeries popping up everywhere. Sprinkles. Sugarbabies. The Cookie Jar. There are countless cupcake recipes and new cupcake cookbooks. There is one bakery in New York that made the original crazy good, uber chic cupcake. This recipe is from there.



Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes

- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar, but it sure is good if you do. (This is the bakery's recipe and I have to say, I added a bit of flour in the end so I could add some thickness. You can't have the icing too runny... that's not cute.)

The resulting cupcakes are so dense and moist, that it almost makes you want to quit your day job and bake all day. Almost... if you like that kind of thing.

well, hello again.

Hello hello. Nice to see you again. We have some catching up to do. I wish I could say that I haven't written because of something important. But that just simply isn't the case. Just life. Everyday.


Food is the first to go.



I am embarrassed by the fast food consumed these past two months. I have to say that those $10 sandwiches eaten at my desk at work while answering emails are a sad excuse for lunch. (Okay, lunch at the vending machine is a bit worse, and I am guilty of that too). WHY oh why do we do this to ourselves? When every minute counts and your body needs fuel, why do we turn to the frozen food section and the meal helper solutions? When your husband is taking the bar exam and you just worked a 14 hour day... you just don't feel like pulling out the apron, that is why. And that is okay.

Time.

Time is my enemy these days. There are simply not enough hours in the day for the food that I want to cook and eat. Here is a good spot for another good beginning. The last draft that I saved was a fat fat fat Tuesday blog about the transition from the sinful fatty everyday to the Lenten season. Now that lent is over and done, and many other events in life have come and gone, we can shed all those wretched parts of ourselves and get back to the meat of it.

Dear blogger / blog-reading / blog-dabbling friend:

I promise to write when I can. I promise to write when I am inspired. I promise to press the "publish" button on all the drafts that make the cut. Until then, here are some greatest hits from the past couple of months...

- the best wedge salad ever with Roquefort dressing
- the easiest and tastiest salsa you have ever made from a magazine clipping
- mustard seed crusted pork tenderloin with caramelized shallots, mashed potatoes, and radishes with butter
- chicken breast with tarragon cream sauce, endive and spinach salad with toasted almonds and dried cranberries

Until next time. Put that box of hamburger helper down and take a deep breath. You are almost there.

all in a day's work - PART II

PART II

the baking and eating part...

So, as the deliciousness stew is brewing and bubbling and making me very hungry, I decide the best thing with stew is cornbread. Warm cornbread straight from the oven with a little butter. Okay, stop drooling. Seriously.

Feeling a little creative, I decided to look into what else I had around. We have already covered the whole love of citrus especially on a winter day idea. I dug a little further. AHA! A recipe for cornmeal cake batter with orange zest. Not feeling very orangy, but definitely feeling very lemony I decided to get after it. Here we go:

Lemon cornmeal cake

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for pan
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar, plus 1/3 cup for topping
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I know, I know what you are thinking... but it will be okay)

Try this one... the wine cube has little servings of wine that are individually sealed. You then, won't be tempted to drink the whole bottle, and you avoid the disapproving looks from your spouse who thinks you just might!

- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Finely grated zest of 1.5 or 2 lemons

Here he is. The naked lemon. I am sorry to disrobe you in all your loveliness sir, but it is for a good cause. I will use the rest of you, I promise (and I did).

Directions

Step 1: Turn on Michael on the itunes... got to be startin somethin I said you want to be startin something...

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with oil; line bottom with a round of wax or parchment paper, and brush paper with oil. Don't sweat it. Use an exacto, yo.

stuck in the middle yeah yeah...

You're a vegetable... you're a vegetable... (wait, what?)

In a large bowl, (or in your way-cool new stand mixer like mine) whisk together oil, eggs, 1 cup sugar, and wine until smooth. Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and orange zest; whisk gently to combine. Or you could just beat it. Beat it, beat it, beat it...

Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1/3 cup sugar (topping will be thick). Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 minutes or so.

Keep On With The Force Don't Stop Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough Keep On With The Force Don't Stop Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough Keep On With The Force Don't Stop Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Cool in pan. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert cake gently onto a plate, and remove parchment paper. Reinvert cake onto a rack to cool completely.

Now is the part where if you are me, then you place the cake in your favorite and very special crystal cake plate and dome that you received as a wedding gift. Perfect and pretty. I served my warm crusty cake with a little lemon curd for dessert. Who's bad?

Plate the soup, add a bit of parsley on top. Cus it makes it faaaaancy. That is why.

all in a day's work - a blog entry in two parts

PART I

What could be more comforting than corn bread and beef stew? I will tell you:

Venison stew made from scratch
and
warm lemon cornmeal cake for dessert


It was not one of those afternoons where I set out to cook all day... truly, I never intend to spend quite as much time in the kitchen as I seem to. (It might have something to do with the frenzied, messy way that I cook and the clean-up time required after the fact). It was an easy afternoon though.

We have covered the whole new year, new selfishness thing going on here. So, while in a self-indulgent mood the other day I spent the entirety of my Amazon and Borders gift cards on new cookbooks. One of the cookbooks I decided I needed was James Peterson's Cooking in all its glory. Never before have I encountered such an informative and thorough tome about the kitchen. I may just throw my Joy out the window. Seriously. Each page is visual trip through the recipe. Each section gives me more than I have ever wanted... "so THAT is how you make a marquise."

The step by step photographs and easy to follow recipe made the beef stew recipe a cinch. I modified it for my purposes as follows:

The best venison stew ever



- about 3 pounds of venison stew meat, cut into large chunks
- half of a large white onion
- 1 large shallot
- 1 head of garlic (James calls for half, but I knew I wanted the whole thing)
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- about 2 cups of yukon potatoes, cut into pieces
- bouquet garni (eyebrows raised... oui, I made my first one)
- 2 cups of full-bodied red wine
- salt
- pepper
- flour (for patting cubes of meat)
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons of butter (who am I kidding? I used 4 or 5)
- 2 cups of broth

The first part was really easy. I combined the onion, shallot, garlic, carrots, bouquet garni, wine and meat in a large bowl. Then I took a nice long nap on the couch. I let it marinate for a couple of hours. James says you can let it sit (in the fridge of course) for up to 12 hours.





Then, I got to patting. I took all the meat pieces out of the marinade and patted them dry, and covered them with flour. Shook off the excess and browned the meat on high heat in the bottom of mi favorito Le Creuset pan. James warns to only sear a few pieces of meat at a time so the pan stays VERY hot. After you are all done with the meat, set it aside on a plate. Add the butter to the pan. Mine immediately began to bubble even after reducing the heat to medium.


Next - strain the marinade and keep all the separate parts. Wine? check. Bouquet garni? Oui. Vegetables? Yes, sir. Put the veggies in with the butter first and wait for them to get soft and the onions to get a little clear. Then, add the meat, the wine and the broth. Don't forget the herbs! Add the bouquet garni too. Salt and pepper, and then cover it up and forget about it for a while.


I covered and kept it on low for about 2 hours and added the potatoes after about thirty minutes. The scent filled my house and every time I lifted the big red lid off the pan, the juicy, steamy smell of meat and wine and herbs met my nose.

Fiona even came running in to see what it was.




MMMMmmmmm.... comforting so far...

the supper club (AKA the log of yum)

I have been meaning to tell you about this one for a while now... I have these pictures saved that tell part of the story... and I just couldn't bring myself to elaborate on this partial failure. It would be wrong to tell you only about the perfect recipes that are tasty and beautiful and that work out just fine. I have to also tell you about the time that I was in way over my head.

First, I need to tell you about the supper club. There are ten of us now, and to be honest, six of us was a bit easier. Mostly because of space, and also because of ingredients. I may need to buy a new stock pot... (but who really has room in their kitchen for a 20 quart stock pot?) Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy the company of all of my friends, and we originally invited this whole group, but somehow in the beginning we were six. To seat more than six at my table you need... well, another table. To seat ten at my table you need to make a run to Crate and Barrel to buy a few more place settings of my flatware. This is all fine with me. I enjoy setting the table, and having lots of friends in my house. I think next time though, we will go with a buffet.

The reason for the expanded supper club and the fancy table with rented linens was this: It was Katie's birthday. What a great excuse to pull out all the stops and try the recipe we had been drooling over since we saw it on TV. When we found the License to Grill show on the food network one lazy weekend afternoon, my husband was thrilled to happen upon a show about food that he could watch. He is an anti-foodie... but more about him later.

Each License to Grill show has a specific theme, or at least reason for Rob to fire things up. Rob Rainford is the host, and he just always has guests coming by for one reason or another. This episode was the Scuba episode. In all seriousness, this is the part where he looks into the camera and says that they are celebrating their final dive (in his pool) to end their Scuba training so he needs to cook up some yummy goodness on the grill. Here is my, well, beef with Rob: I think he is a great cook, and an upbeat guy to watch... but the staged weird interactions with his friends do not add to the show. It is lame, my friend.

But I digress... here is why I am telling you about Rob. Rob loves the grill, and so does my husband. Rob loves veal, and so does my husband. Rob loves to create his own spicy rubs for all the meat he prepares. Rob loves the seafood... This lazy afternoon on the couch we were quite frankly taken aback by the combination of all these things... BEHOLD... THE LOG OF YUM.

The Scuba episode was a memorable one because Rob prepared his Seafood Stuffed Veal Tenderloin that day. Did you hear what I said?? Veal tenderloin pounded out and rubbed down with seafood in the middle. You heard me, that is why we dubbed it the LOG OF YUM. My husband started talking about this recipe with his friends. People knew that it was next up on the supper club circuit. The pressure was on.

One thing that is nice about the club is that we tend to go for Sundays so the cook has the weekend to prepare. I needed every ounce of that extra time. I set out to shop for the ingredients and was met with disappointment when I found that not a single specialty shop or butcher (not even Pete's!) in town carries a veal tenderloin that has not been previously frozen. Bummer. If the pressure wasn't on, (and I hadn't just spent half my paycheck on the other stuff) I would have stopped in my tracks and chosen something new. Who wants to put all this effort into meat that is not perfect? (And where does Rob shop anyway? Maybe they eat more veal in Canada... I don't know...)

Here we go... I get home, I defrost the meat and proceed with the recipe. I pound it out and I find that the previously frozen meat is not behaving. If I had bought this from the butcher in its regular state I would have had them cut it open like a book and pound it out for me, but instead we ended up with some very small parts, some really thick fat pieces although I pounded with all my might. How were we going to roll it up properly if the meat wasn't thin and neat? We shall see...

The rest of it was fairly easy. We set up an assembly line of sorts on our tiny kitchen counter. Yummy prosciutto laid out first, next the mismatched bits of veal, then last but not least all the scallops and shrimp. It looked great while it was being prepared. Then, we began to roll. We struggled a bit with the prosciutto, but after wrapping it all up in the plastic wrap and setting it aside in the fridge to marinate we felt a bit more confident... we looked at each other. "It should be fine, right?" "Sure."

Here is the rest of the story... the prosciutto stuck to the grill and exposed the insides of the roll. The veal that was not large enough exposed the shrimpy scallopy insides and it all sort of fell apart.

We made five total rolls and two of them held up. Once inside on the platter we used to serve all the ingredients mingled together and the crispy salty prosciutto tasted perfect with the now smoky-flavored shrimp and scallops. Everyone agreed, it was ugly, but it was tasty.

I served a couple of odd things that night. My parsley root soup got lukewarm reviews. The log of yum fell apart. My husband did NOT like the napa cabbage salad with homemade buttermilk dressing, or that I blanched the asparagus. "Why is it cold again?" But everyone had a good time. They all pretended that everything was good and we enjoyed each other's company. We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Katie as she blew out the candles on the cake I made from scratch. (And by the way, that cake was GOOD if I do say so myself).

So, the moral of my long story I suppose... is, even if the recipes do not all come together, all is forgiven in the company of friends.

sunshine on my winter table

I live in Texas so my winter is not so hard. It is relatively cold today, but as the outside thermostat hovers at 45 degrees or so, I am not going to sign up for the next seasonal affective disorder support group. Still, nature seems to know that in the middle of winter, we all need a little bit of warmth and sunshine. I think it is no small coincidence that citrus fruit abounds during this season, and I am thankful for that. While others shuffle past with sniffles and coughs, what could be better than a boost of vitamin c and a fresh acidic flavor?

Meyer lemons, blood oranges, grapefruits, and oh, the tangerines! Clementines always remind me of my childhood Christmas stocking, and they are so easy to peel and share. They are just the right combination of sweet and tart.

The citrus that I am inspired by today is the tangelo. A cross between a tangerine and a pomelo, the tangelo has a deep orange color, and an intense zingy flavor. Characterized by its protruding stem end, it is easy to spot among its cousins on the produce aisle.

As I was eating alone this fine afternoon, I set out to prepare my favorite kind of meal - one made up of small beautiful plates and rich flavors. The centerpiece of this array of snacks was a citrus salad with a bite.

Now, mind you, I know this flavor is not for the faint of heart, or for the acid stomach... It started out as a relish, and I thought it was delightful on its own.

Tangelo salad with capers and shallots:

- 3 tangelos segmented and separated
- 1 small shallot sliced finely with a mandolin (this is my favorite way of preparing shallots for salads right now...)
- 2-3 teaspoons of capers with juice
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- salt and pepper

Combine all elements above to taste, enjoy!

Notes: Segmenting a citrus fruit is easier than you think... although it can be time consuming. This link shows you how step-by-step. Here is where I insert my shout out to my fellow blogger Helen. Thanks for your informative post.